Wednesday, 11 June 2008

Teatro of Ostia Antica

Ostio Antica, the ancient harbor city of Rome, is found at the mouth of the TiberRiver and was once Rome’s main commercial port and military base. As a class we ventured to Ostio Antica to take a close look, for ourselves, at the ancient ruins. While exploring the extensive land I came across the obtrusive ancient Roman Teatro, the main amphitheatre of the ancient city. The enormous structure with a capacity of about 4,000 spectators was originally built at the end of the 1st century B.C.To my surprise the theatre is still being used today. The massive structure made of brick is supported by numerous arches and pilasters, which opens up to a vast area inside of concrete rows for seating overlooking the large stage with trees and the bright blue sky in the background. I sat in the teatro under the bright sun and watched young girls practice ballet, a slightly different type of entertainment than one would have found in the first century B.C.